"I am hopeful that people here would support Samajwadi Party": Samajwadi Party's Tej Pratap Singh Yadav

Yadav said that people were harassed during BJP's tenure in the state and hoped that SP would be supported by the people.

Speaking to ANI, Yadav said "The manner in which the people were harassed during the BJP government's tenure, all development projects were halted and conduct of misbehavior in Mainpuri are the main issues right now. I am hopeful that the people here would support Samajwadi Party. We hope there is fair voting today and people are not harassed."

Earlier SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav urged voters to exercise their franchise, "An appeal is made to all the voters of the 9 assembly seats in UP where elections are being held, to go and cast their vote while remaining committed to their future and the Constitution. Vote 100%, be 100% careful."

The SP leader also raised the issue of Police officials checking ID cards of voters, Earlier the Samajwadi Part wrote to the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and urged that no police personnel should check the voter ID of any voter in the state. The SP claimed that during the Lok Sabha elections 2024, the Police officials deployed at polling stations misused their power and position, and made SP supporters, especially Muslim women voters remove their veils, causing fear among the women.

"An appeal to the Hon'ble Supreme Court and Election Commission is to take immediate cognizance on the basis of the video evidence received just now and take punitive action and also ensure fair election process. All the police officers who are checking voter cards and Aadhaar IDs should be immediately suspended on the basis of the video. Police has no right to check Aadhaar ID cards or identity cards," Akhilesh Yadav posted on X.

The nine assembly seats where bypolls are being held include Meerapur, Kundarki, Khair, Karhal, Phulpur, and Katehari. The results will be declared on November 23.

Meanwhile, polling for the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand has also begun. In Maharashtra, voting is taking place across 288 Assembly seats, with several constituencies witnessing high-stakes battles.

Key leaders in contention include Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, contesting from Kopri-Pachpakhadi against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Kedar Prakash Dighe, and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, defending his stronghold in Nagpur South West against Congress candidate Prafulla Gudadhe.

In Jharkhand, 528 candidates, including 55 women, one third-gender candidate, and 472 men, are contesting across 38 seats in this phase. Over 1.23 crore voters, including 61 lakh women, are eligible to cast their votes.

Prominent candidates in Jharkhand include Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren, and his sister-in-law Sita Soren from the JMM. Key BJP candidates in this phase include former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi, Assembly Speaker Ravindra Nath Mahto (JMM), AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto, and Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri. The election primarily pits the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led alliance against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). (ANI)